Happy December 1st

Today is December 1. Usually this is one of the best days of my entire year. Christmas is officially approaching and I can now say "Merry Christmas!" to everyone I meet without getting strange looks like I got three weeks ago (yes, I am that much of a Christmas fanatic). And even though today is a really exciting day in my world, this year December 1st was much different than usual.

You see, I woke up while it was still dark outside after having the worst nightmare of my life. Then I stumbled to the bathroom, flipping on light after light to chase away the shadows from that dream. Ten minutes later, I opened the side door to let my sleeping Baby Z inside. I tenderly took him from his car seat and he smiled like he does every morning. I started telling him how I'd missed him over the last 7 or 8 hours and whispered to him about how much he is loved as I rocked him back to sleep.

Then I fixed oatmeal for a sleepy eyed Walker while he pulled the covers off his big sister and ordered her out of bed by screaming "Git up, Ally! GIIIIIIT up!" in his little country boy accent. As Josh sauntered into the kitchen, he was a little on edge too. It turns out his dreams were no better than mine and they left him feeling as off kilter as I did.

The day began to pick up speed as Josh left to take Ally to school. The crew showed up to finish the roof and continue remodeling the bathroom upstairs. Dusty boots lets trails in and out of the house. I shoved the vacuum in a corner with disgust, giving up on a clean house.

I tried to write. I'd get one complete sentence typed and the phone would ring. Ten minutes later, a second sentence would spill onto the screen and then the roofing crew would sound like they were coming through the ceiling and the baby would cry. I'd get him settled and type a third sentence and Walker would need juice or a snack or a hug. Then the phone would ring again. Then the Fed-Ex man came to the door. Then the doorbell made the dog bark which caused Walker to start jumping with excitement which jolted the baby awake... again. And I closed the computer and sank onto the couch, trying to convince myself not to rip my hair out by the roots.

Since writing wasn't working out well, I decided to make a phone call. Only I dropped the phone. I tried to make the call again. Then I accidentally hung up on my mother-in-law mid-sentence because I was holding the phone too tightly between my shoulder and my cheek. One more attempt and I got a beep before I even said, "Hello". And the day continued in chaos.

By lunchtime, I was on edge. I finally got the baby fed and down for a nap. Walker finished lunch and laid down to sleep. I opened the computer again and tried to answer all my work related emails, hoping to get time to work on my manuscript some more. I placed my fingers on the keyboard and just as I started to type, the dadgum roofing guy rang the doorbell. The dog barked. The baby cried. Walker screamed. The phone rang. I tried not to cry. I stepped on a piece of broken tile that had apparently made its way to the floor courtesy of someone's boots earlier in the morning. I hopped to the door to see what was wrong now. The guy just wanted to plug something into the recepticle but thought he better ask first. How polite. He looked at me like I was crazy since the dog was barking, the baby screaming, the toddler crying, me hopping, and did I mention I still had on my pajamas?

Mid-afternoon I got dishes washed and managed to put on a pair of blue jeans before my mother in law arrived to save the day. She watched the children while I went with Josh to meet with the real estate agent for about the 400th time. He promised for about the 500th time that our house was going to closing and this time it was a sure thing. Hmmm... seems like I heard that about two years ago when it first went onto the market.

Supper was pancakes and scrambled eggs because that was all my brain could fathom cooking at that point. Only I nearly burned the eggs when the phone rang again. Luckily Josh stepped in and finished cooking dinner while Baby Z's grandma picked him up and needed to have a good, long talk.

By the time she left, supper was cold. Josh kindly reheated my eggs and sat down with me at the table. Only we couldn't really eat in peace because Ally's three pancakes had left her with a tummy ache. After inhaling my eggs, I went to run bath water and Josh left for his men's prayer group and the academy's ball game. Usually bath time is the best part of the day around here, but not today. The brand new shower door broke, thanks to a curious two year old who decided to see if he could take the screws out. Yep, it won't go back on. Nope, the remodeling crew is not going to be happy with me tomorrow when they have to re-reinstall the shower doors. Ally screamed like she was bleeding to death because Walker splashed water on her hair. Walker pinched Ally because she touched his spiderman toothbrush. I tried to have a phone conversation with my mom, but couldn't hear over the chaos so just gave up and told her I'd call her tomorrow.

Josh came home and the kids went to bed, thirty minutes earlier than usual. They protested. They cried. They argued over who would get to sleep with the stuffed dog that no one has touched in six months. Once they were in their beds, I informed Josh that I needed to get out for a bit.

I escaped to my friend Sheyna's because my other friend Courtney was visiting for the night. I thought I'd cuddle newborn Sophie and talk to my two best girlfriends and feel better about life. Only Sheyna was having the same kind of December 1st as I was. An infection c-section incision had her feeling miserable. Poor Courtney was sleep deprived from a thanksgiving fiasco that is only fit for a blog post entirely of its own. Sophie spit up all over me and her both. On the bright side, there was chocolate cobbler. On the not so bright side, that probably wasn't on my diet plan and I was doing reallllllly well until that big bowl of chocolate gooeyness eased away my anxiety from the day.

So this December 1st was not like most other years. There was no advent calendar hung for the kids to start a countdown. There was no happy mommy humming Christmas carols. There was only a crying baby, whining preschooler, argumentative toddler, loud roofers, dirt streaked floors, piles of laundry, and a ringing phone.

But even in the midst of it all, I know that this day served a purpose. And guess what? I know exactly what the purpose of this day was. Today, I learned to appreciate the glorious hope of tomorrow. And I also learned that bedtime is a mom's best friend... which is why I must end this post now and go find some clean pajamas in the basket of unfolded laundry.

Happy December 1st, ya'll! Hope yours was as Merry and Bright as mine was.